Crazy/Beautiful
by Lexie Jayne
Summary: Based on the movie. Syl and Krit meet up in LA years after they split and come to terms with certain aspects of each others lives. (AU) (Set 2 years before S1)(14/07: NEW Chapter)
1. Chapter 1

Syl had lived in Los Angeles for four years. She came there when she was fourteen. Before, she'd been in Chicago, New Orleans and NYC.  
  
She was adopted from a shelter that looked after post-Pulse orphans. By a banker named Peter Gallagher and his wife, Isobel.  
  
When Syl (or, as she called herself, Sylvie Amos) was sixteen, Peter decided to remarry. By Syl's seventeenth , Peter had married a woman named Crista Morgan. They had a baby girl named Eloise.  
  
Peter was a millionaire. He and Syl had always lived in a huge white and glass house over looking the bay. Peter owned five cars and the entire house was full of the latest gadgets – laptop computers, DVD players, digital security camera…even after the Pulse, he had them.  
  
When Crista moved in, the entire house was redecorated in a more modern style. Lots of white, gray and black. Three more cars went into the garage.  
  
Crista then inherited a few billion from her father and his company. So, by the time Eloise was born, Crista was princess of the social scene. She was money and she got whatever she desired.  
  
Syl hated Crista the moment she'd taken over from Isobel – Syl and Belle had been very close; the closet thing Syl had ever had to a mother.  
  
Syl's room was huge – painted white like the entire house and full of her 'stuff'. A bulletin board was full of photographs and postcards – mainly of Syl and Belle together. A double bed covered with a homemade flannel quilt. A sheer piece of pale pink material was tacked across the floor to ceiling window. Her clothes were tossed across a white wicker chair.  
  
Syl lay in bed, watching the sunrise through the material. Her hair lay, dull and tangled, across her shoulders. She had a headache coming on and she had school in 90 minutes.  
  
"Connie!" came a yell. Connie was the housekeeper and Eloise's nanny.  
  
Syl rolled out of bed and walked over to her pile of clothes – she really needed to do some laundry…  
  
She pulled on a red halter top, a pair of tight black jeans and some black thongs. Smear of lipstick and eyeshadow, brushing her long hair, Syl grabbed her book bag and coat and raced downstairs.  
  
"…Connie, I told you, Eloise is to be given soy milk only. No diary products. She's got a rash. I'll have to run to the doctor with her. And I've got an important meeting with my lawyer." Crista bustled round the kitchen, holding Eloise, who was almost three. She had light brown curls and was old – and tall – enough to walk. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, but Crista was holding her, wrapped in a mink blanket, with an ice pack pressed to her forehead, like she was wasting away.  
  
"Hey Crista," Syl said, coming into the kitchen, and opening the fridge.  
  
"Good morning, Sylvie," Crista said stiffly. "I hope you have a nice day at school. There is money on the phone table. Eloise is ill, I'm taking her to the doctor then to a meeting. Your father said he'll be home by nine. I shall be home a six. Dinner will be around six."  
  
Syl nodded, deciding on a bottle of iced coffee and a doughnut for breakfast. Glancing at her watch, she realized that Jem was picking her up in five minutes; for all of Jem's faults, lateness was not one.  
  
"Whatever, Crista. See you tonight." Syl grabbed her phone and wallet from the kitchen table, walking down the drive.  
  
Crista rushed out after her, hurrying to her car.  
  
Syl walked down the drive, slipped through the bars of the front gate and waited by the road. Just as Jem's red jeep pulled to the side of the road, Crista sped by in her BMW, almost colliding with Jem.  
  
"Jesus, where's the fire?" Jem laughed.  
  
"Eloise is a bit flushed," Syl rolled her eyes, tossed her bag in the bag and jumped in.  
  
Jem was slightly shocking to look at. She had paper white skin, blotched with bruises; she liked playing soccer with her brothers; she had black hair she streaked with bleach and wide brown eye outlined with black eyeshadow. All her make up was thick as hell. She favoured spandex dresses and skirts for school, with stilettos. And her hat – a faux faded red velvet knit hat that she'd stuck beads too.  
  
"Ciggy?" Jem offered. "Drink?"  
  
Even from this distance, Syl could smell the orange juice mixed with vodka. While smoking didn't affect Syl, she stuck to the herbal cigarettes. On the rare occasion she did smoke.  
  
"Turn up the radio!" Jem screamed over the already-blaring stereo. Syl nodded, wincing slightly – being an X5, her ears were much more sensitive.  
  
The girls made t to school on time, to see a bus come in from the bay area.  
  
"Hey, Syl, fresh meat," Jem grinned, leaping out of the jeep.  
  
"Yum," Syl smirked, grabbing her stuff.  
  
Both girls stood on the steps – three new girls and two new boys.  
  
"Sad that the bay area has so few..." Jem waved her skinny arms about. "Damn, Syl, we need to meet Harley and Phoenix."  
  
"What have we got first?" Syl asked, flipping her hair. "Peter said that I'm failing cause I haven't turned up to enough history classes."  
  
"How can they flunk you when you got 92% for midterms? That's a crime."  
  
"It's the system. So, the verdict?"  
  
"Algebra."  
  
"Excellent."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Krit lived forty minutes from the bay area. When he got accepted into a private school on the outskirts of the city, his guardian, Sue, was thrilled. Full scholarship. It also meant that her had to catch a bus at 5:50 am to be in time for the 7:30 am bay area bus to school.  
  
School. A safe haven. He was planning on graduating and studying genetics so he could work out the problems with the seizures. Good job, good pay and he could afford a car. Once he was a doctor.  
  
Sue had taken him in when he was twelve. They'd never been caught. They lived in a wooden townhouse with Sue's son – Micah – who was 25 and unemployed. He was bitter Krit was able to get a proper education.  
  
Krit yawned and watched out the bus window. This was his ticket to closing down Manticore and getting a real life – a normal one.  
  
The bus pulled up along a street. It was neat and tidy. The school took up most of the block – except for a newsagent and a deli. It was a concrete and brick building. Better than the high school Krit had slummed it before.  
  
A red jeep pulled up opposite the school, and two girls jumped out, laughing and carrying on. One was tall, with black and bleached hair and bruises. Krit guessed leukemia or some terminal disease. The other was a short blonde and looked like she'd spent the evening in the gutter.  
  
Krit got off the bus and moved towards the principal's office. Time to start his Life. And damn anyone who got in the way.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Syl pulled a cigarette out of her pocket, lighting it. There were five of them skipping class – her, Jem, Phoenix, Harley and Tania, sitting in a tree. Phoenix and Harley were passing around a bottle of vodka while Jem was drinking bourbon and coke.  
  
"The party last night was so mad," Phoenix purred, inhaling, dangling the cigarette from her finger tips. "At least, what I remember." She giggled, grabbing at the vodka.  
  
"It was great," Syl agreed, taking a mouthful of the bourbon and coke. "Damnit, Joel throws the best raves."  
  
"So, spill Syl, is Joel as good as he looks?" Harley asked, smirking. "Cause Matt sure as hell was a disappointment to the family."  
  
"Runs in the family," Syl rolled her eyes. "He was backing away before we even did anything. Freak."  
  
The girls laughed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*  
  
Krit sat in his algebra class, trying to concentrate. But he had caught site of a bunch of girls hanging out in the parking lot, in a tree. Finally, irritable from the Math he had learnt as a child in Manticore, he got a hall pass and went in search of the girls.  
  
There they were, passing around cigarettes and bottles of drink that smelt incriminating.  
  
"Hey," he said, eyeing them.  
  
"Hey good-lookin," said one. She had hair that had been dyed a harsh artificial red, wearing a black bikini top (damn, Krit hoped that was a bikini) and a purple leather skirt.  
  
"Lookin' for a threesome, huh?" asked Leukemia Girl. "You've come to the right place."  
  
"Phoenix, Jem, leave the new guy alone." The blonde from the car. She had loosened up now and was laughing.  
  
"I don't like to get in too deep before I know your names," Krit said, leaning against the tree. "So?"  
  
"Phoenix," the redhead said. "Pleasure."  
  
"Jemma. Call me Jem or I'll kill you," Leukemia Girl said.  
  
"Harley." A wiry girl with cropped black hair and two cigarettes.  
  
"Tania." She looked perfectly innocent – two braids and a cute t shirt, denim skirt and knee socks. Not the sort who hung around drinking and smoking during their senior year.  
  
"I know whatcha thinking," the Blonde said. "Yeah, our families are rolling in cash. They send us to a nice school so we can go to college and make them proud. But, basically, we don't wanna be here. An all night club is all we need to get that boost of self-esteem." She leant forward and Krit was suddenly aware that there wasn't anything under her skimpy halter top.  
  
"And you are…?" He stepped closer to her, intrigued. Someone else as jaded as he was. He could read the pain in her eyes.  
  
"Sylvie Amos. Call me Syl," she shrugged, leaning back.  
  
Krit's eyes widened. He hadn't met anyone called Syl in his life except his baby sister…  
  
"Krit Morias," he said. "Krit'll do just fine."  
  
She looked up, her eyes wide. "Krit, huh?"  
  
Looking back, Krit knew instantly, this was his Syl. Or what remained of the girl he had been so close to. Years of emotional neglect had left Syl a bitter girl; if Zack had stopped and realized that even though Syl had a rich family, an education and safety, she still needed his contact, she might've been okay. But thanks to Zack's sibling-related problems, Syl was just like Ben; she was killing. Unlike Ben, Syl was slowly killing herself.  
  
He was about to ask her anything – the name, the reminder of his best friend was enough for him to never let her go, but a teacher came over.  
  
"Ladies," he said. "Drinking games?"  
  
"We were about to set up a hot threesome, Mr Dune," Tania smirked, giving him her best sex kitten look. "I'm sure we could fit you in…somewhere."  
  
Mr Dune glared at Tania. "Right all six of you have an hour of after school detention. One of these days girls, I'd like to see you when you don't smell like a brewery."  
  
The girls grabbed their stuff and left. Mr Dune turned to Krit.  
  
"Morias? Heard about you. First full scholarship given out in years."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Want some sound advice, Morias?" Mr Dune asked, as they walked back to class.  
  
"If you're offering it sir."  
  
"Stay away from those girls. Tania Zuckerman, Harley Adams, Phoenix Spencer, Jemma Houston and Sylvie Amos. You get mixed up with them…Amos doesn't clean up her act, she's expelled. Jemma has been expelled – paperwork is being finalised, she's outta here."  
  
"But she's sick, right? Why are you expelling her, if she's a terminal patient," Krit asked, confused.  
  
Mr Dune was three years older than the Seniors and had been at BAHS when the famous five were freshmen.  
  
"Those girls…I was a Senior when they were freshmen. Jemma has been on hard drugs since she was twelve. She's shitted up so many people. If she hasn't already got AIDS, HIV or something, she's got an STD. She hasn't got leukemia or cancer, just a whole lot of rage," Mr Dune shrugged. "Sylvie's worse; lost cause. The other three are nothing but sheep. Tania was a top student until she and Phoenix became friends."  
  
Krit nodded, arriving at his class. "So, you're just giving up on Sylvie? She can't be saved?"  
  
Mr Dune gave him a hard glare. "Amos has gotten to you, hasn't she? Look, Morias, she can't be saved. No body can unless they want to; unless they have a reason. I'll see you in detention." 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Syl and Krit belong to James Cameron, and Crazy/Beauitful and the basic plotline of this fic belong to the company that made the movie. I own the four friends.  
  
AN: Sorry guys, I left a small part off the beginning of Chapter 2, so I've added it. It makes a bit more sense now (  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After school. Detention had involved an hour of picking up trash under Mr Dune's watchful eye. While Jem and Syl were high as kites, the other three were as quiet as mice.  
  
"Shit," Krit muttered, as he watched a bus pull away from the curb. The next bus wasn't until 8, he wouldn't get home till midnight.  
  
"Problems?" Syl appeared next to him, smiling, giving him an eye full down her top.  
  
"Missed my bus. The next one doesn't get home for hours," Krit explained, straightening.  
  
"Me and Jem'll give you a ride," Syl smiled at him. "After you come party with us, okay?"  
  
Krit gazed at her. For a moment.  
  
"Yeah, okay, as long as I get home before midnight."  
  
"Done," Syl said, racing away, garbage bag in hand. "Jem!"  
  
*~*~*~*~* Flashing lights. Blaring salsa music. Jem and Syl walked along, arms around each others waist.  
  
Krit gazed around wide eyed.  
  
Jem turned to look back at him. "Sylvie, I think lover boy has cowered. Don't think he knows how to party."  
  
Syl span backwards and walked towards him, motioning for Jem to go away.  
  
"Dance with me?" She pressed against him, gazing coyly up at him.  
  
He nodded, slightly on edge. The loud noises and bright lights seemed to crowd him.  
  
Her arms wrapped around his neck and his hands settled on her hips. She looked up at him, grinning, running her hands through his hair and rubbing her body against his.  
  
Krit wanted to lean over and ask her about '701'. If she was 701, if she remembered Manticore, if she even knew who he was to her.  
  
But this wasn't his sister; this was someone he'd never met and never known; the girl she'd have been if there was no Manticore.  
  
She leant closer, whispering, "What are you thinking about?" Her breathe fluttering against his cheek.  
  
He looked into her eyes and made a spontaneous decision. "About Manticore."  
  
Syl looked up and met his eyes. She didn't say anything, but Krit got the message. She knew what he was talking about and didn't want to talk about it.  
  
Syl rested her head against his shoulder. Manticore. A word she hadn't heard since before she'd been fostered; since she saw Zack laughed. And if this was her big brother Krit.talking about it would bring uneasiness and he'd leave her alone again. And after finding him - someone she automatically felt safe with - she didn't know what would happen if he went away again. This was her first contact with another X5 in four years.  
  
Krit watched her carefully, as she leant against him, as she looked down, away from him.  
  
"Come on, let's get something to drink," he said, pulling her towards the fast food vans.  
  
She smiled and nodded and started to say something that was lost in the blaring music.  
  
Pheonix and Jem were sitting at a picnic table, laughing. "We need food," Pheonix said as Krit and Syl approached them. "You guys sit and we'll get food and drinks."  
  
Krit dropped to the seat and watched Syl carefully. "You always come out here after school?"  
  
Syl shook her head, turning to face him. "Nah. Maybe once or twice a week. Tania's mom has this sixth sense about where she's been. Pheonix and Harley spend most of their waking hours here. Jem and I just hang wherever," she smiled slightly. "Why?"  
  
Krit shrugged. "You don't look like you enjoy it too much."  
  
"Course I do, it's much better than being at home," Syl grinned, as Pheonix and Jem returned with food. "Pizza again?"  
  
Pheonix shrugged. "Yes, well, nothing else over there is edible."  
  
Jem handed them all cans of beer. "Yeah, but you're used to the finer things in life, Pheonix. As long as it's dead, Syl and I'll eat it, isn't that right, mah sistah?" Jem leaned over and gave Syl a high five.  
  
"Right on," Syl laughed. The other two girls burst out laughing and clinked beer cans.  
  
"Cheers."  
  
Krit had never met people like these girls. Sue had a traditional big Italian/Greek family with huge parties for the most minor good event. After six years with Sue and her family, Krit didn't know what he'd do without people around him.  
  
But these three girls were virtually isolated; they were united in the bitterness they held for the outside world in general.  
  
The rest of the evening - well, the next two hours were filled with dancing and drinking. And during those two hours, Krit was vaguely aware that Jem and Pheonix slipped away somewhere. But Syl didn't seem to know or really care, so he didn't question it.  
  
Then Jem came and found them.  
  
"Syl, we need to go. Pheonix is sick."  
  
Syl nodded, pulling away from Krit. "Where is she?"  
  
"She said she was going to be sick, I left her in a back street," Jem said, as they weaved their way through the crowd.  
  
"A back street in Los Angeles, in the middle of the night?" Syl asked incredulously. "Duh, think Jem. Watch the News once in awhile." Not that there was any point saying this now or ever. Not only was Jem completely smashed, she and Pheonix had been off popping some sort of pills. Syl didn't agree with it, but she just let it go.  
  
They found Pheonix, gagging into a garbage bin in a back alley. Jem went over and offered her a bottle of water, and began cleaning her up.  
  
"Does it always end like this?" Krit asked softly, as they waited at the corner of the building.  
  
"How? With Pheonix and Jem throwing up in a random back alley, completely drunk, while I drive them home and take the blame for screwing them up? Usually," Syl nodded, resting her head against his shoulder.  
  
"Doesn't sound like much fun," Krit said softly.  
  
"We could always make it fun," Syl looked up at him, smiling.  
  
Krit leant closer to her, gently kissing her.  
  
"You two mind giving me a hand," Jem yelled, completely ruining the moment. "I got better things to do than wait round for you two in a dark alley at midnight."  
  
Syl rolled her eyes and moved towards her friends.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~* They dropped Pheonix off first. Luckily, only Pheonix's brother was home and he didn't cause a fuss at her disheveled appearance.  
  
The drive to the bay area seemed almost double as long as it usually was, due to the silence in the car and the late hour. Krit had to get up in around four hours to catch the bus. These outings probably wouldn't be a nightly occurrence; Krit was one of the few X5s who needed sleep.  
  
"This is my place," he said to Syl. She nodded, pulling the brakes.  
  
"Sorry for such a crazy night and for getting you detention," she said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ears.  
  
"No, it was fun," Krit smiled at her, tempted to lean over and kiss her again.  
  
"Krit!" Sue came out onto the porch, motioning to her watch. "It's 1:30 in the morning! Where have you been? Who is that with you?"  
  
Syl slipped out of the car, pulling her sweatshirt over her head.  
  
"I'm sorry I'm so late. Sylvie and her friends invited me out. We lost track of time," Krit apologized.  
  
"And your friend is." Sue asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Sylvie Amos," Syl said.  
  
"Nice to meet you. Well, it is getting late. Good night Sylvie," Sue said pointedly, giving Krit a Look.  
  
"Night Syl. I'll see you tomorrow," Krit said, moving up onto the verandah.  
  
"Night," she smiled and turned back to the jeep, to drop Jem home.  
  
  
  
Feedback cherished ;) 


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